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StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
:Zeratul: "I bring tidings of doom. The xel'naga return, the cycle nears its end, the artifacts are the key." :Jim Raynor: "The key... the key to what?" :Zeratul: "To the end of all things." :―Zeratul delivers a warning to Jim Raynorsrc Wings of Liberty is the name of the StarCraft II terran campaign and episode. It will be the first StarCraft II product and will be released separately from the other two games, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void,Mike Farley. 2008-10-10. StarCraft II Single Player Is A Trilogy! Kotaku.com Accessed 2008-10-10.Eduardo Vasconcellos. 2008-10-10. Blizzcon 08: StarCraft II Split Into Three Games. IGN. Accessed 2008-10-10. occurring before them chronologically.StarCraft Legacy staff. 2008-04-04. StarCraft II Lore Panel. StarCraft Legacy. Accessed on 2009-05-12 Mike Morhaime stated he expected the Wings of Liberty beta to launch in summer 2009.This summer we will beta testing, this phase will signal the final stretch of development. During the Starcraft II beta test we'll begin external testing of our new Battle.net including some features that are designed to connect all future Blizzard games. This includes new tools that will make it easier for players to communicate with each other between games. We are also introducing a centralize system that would let players manage of all their Blizzard entertainment games and future games in one place without having to remember multiple sets of log in information. Mike Morhaime, Tor Thorsen. 2009-05-07. Guitar Hero tops $2 billion, Activision Blizzard earns $981 million in Q1. Gamespot. Accessed 2009-05-07. and he expects the game to launch by the end of 2009, although he also notes that it will only ship once the game is done."There will be a Starcraft II beta test later this summer, and Morhaime offers to get anyone in attendance into the program. Morhaime expects to launch Starcraft II by the end of the year, though also notes that it will only ship once the game is done." Mike Morhaime, Brendan Sinclair. 2009-05-31. Starcraft II by end of 2009, Call of Duty expanding to new genres. Gamespot. Accessed 2009-06-01. Recently, Gamespot reported that the financial website Market Watch has stated that StarCraft II, as well as a host of other games, will be delayed till 2010. According to the report, StarCraft II beta will begin in Q1 2010 and the retail game released in Q2-Q3 2010.Thorsen-ink. 2009-07-29. Starcraft II slipping into 2010? Gamespot. Accessed 2009-07-30. The game will contain a method for learning how to play the other races.Chris Sigaty, Samwise Didier. Blizzcon 2008 StarCraft 2 Press Q&A. StarCraft Source. Accessed 2008010-12. A collector's edition will be available.We are looking to gather some good questions aimed specifically at the developers of StarCraft II about their experience in developing the game. Fun questions are a plus. Submit your questions to this thread and there is a chance they may be selected to be added in a special video interview with the developers. Feel free to shoot out questions to all parts of the team: Production, Design, Art, Programming, QA, etc. Please avoid specific gameplay type questions or other questions better suited for our traditional Q&A batches. Karune. 2009-04-15. Collector's Edition Questions for Devs. Battle.net StarCraft II General Discussion Forum. Accessed 2009-04-17. Campaign Mechanics The campaign is expected to take 20-60 hours to complete, depending on how "completist" the player is.Gunnar Petzall. 2009-06-29. StarCraft 2 page 2. Inc.Gamers. Accessed 2009-06-29. In the terran campaign, players will be able to choose their own missions in the middle part of the campaign rather than progress through a set series. The missions are designed to emphasize player choice, such as which technology to buy and missions to play. Wings of Liberty will have its own starmap.Pardo, Rob and Zetaras Xal'Kurat. 2008-06-29. WorldWide Invitational 2008: Pictures, Presentations, Videos (StarCraft II Panel: Evolving Design) SC2 Blog. Accessed 2008-06-30. The starmap is used to access missions. Unit and Upgrade Availability While some units will enter the campaign through missions, the player can also gain access to some units and upgrades for them are purchased outside actual missionsFrank Pearce, Bob Colayco, Dave 'Fargo' Kosak. 2008-08-21. Blizzard Talks StarCraft II at Leipzig (PC) (page 3). Gamespy. Accessed 2008-08-23.Frank Pearce, Bob Colayco, Dave 'Fargo' Kosak. 2008-08-21. Blizzard Talks StarCraft II at Leipzig (PC) (page 4). Gamespy. Accessed 2008-08-23. in the Hyperion armory. Players will be able to "customize" their selections which suit their playstyles, for instance buying defensive upgrades for bunkers would suit a defensive playstyle.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 3). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. In addition, other upgrades that will never be seen in multiplayer, such as area-of-effect increases or the ability to add both a tech lab and a reactor to a barracks will be included in the system.Allen 'Delsyn' Rausch, Dustin Browder. 2008-10-10. StarCraft II: Making the Split (PC). Gamespy. Accessed 2008-10-12. Each mission completed gives access to a unit or upgrade to a unit. Each unit has two upgrades.Edwards, Tim. "StarCraft II: What A Rush." PC Gamer Magazine 189 (July 2009): 58-65. Players who delve deeply into the storyline can finish research objectives, a type of quest. Completing enough of them will grant access to new technology. This is separate from upgrading tech at the Hyperion ''s armory.Dustin Browder, Nick Brekon. 2009-06-29. First Details on StarCraft 2's Mercenaries, and How Wing Commander Influenced Blizzard. ''Shacknews. Accessed 2009-07-01. Mercenaries will be available in the campaign. They can be hired, although only one can be used in a mission at a time. After the mission, they will be "regenerated". Raynor's Raiders will have access to some older technology, such as Wraiths, goliaths and medics; Raynor's been around for a while and would likely use the older technology. Sets and Character Interactions Interactions in briefings will also change, as Jim Raynor can interact with those around him (e.g. he can walk around the Hyperion, talk to characters like Tychus Findlay and his second-in-command Matt Horner and even play around with his armory's crane). The player can choose which characters to interact with. Jim Raynor will be the main character, and the player will direct him, determining to some extent who Raynor will become based on their choices. This is different from the "vague" player character from StarCraft. The player will have the choice of bending Raynor towards good (by taking missions from certain characters such as Ariel Hanson)Tom Phoenix. BlizzCon 2008: Starcraft II Lore Panel. StarCraft II Armory. Accessed 2008-10-12. or evil (by taking missions from characters such as Tychus Findlay and Gabriel Tosh).Allen 'Delsyn' Rausch, Chris Metzen, Andy Chambers. Behind the Lore of StarCraft II (PC). Gamespy. Accessed 2008-10-12. Often missions will be associated with different characters. For instance, after fleeing Mar Sara, Jim Raynor can choose between rescuing the abandoned Fringe World of Agria or retrieving an artifact from fanatical protoss on Monlyth. If the former mission if concluded, a new character, Ariel Hanson, will be added to the roster of Raynor's Raiders.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 3). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. ]] Numerous between-mission set pieces exist, such as the bar on Mar Sara where Tychus Findlay was reunited with Jim Raynor, and includes features such as a jukebox (which enables music to be turned on or off), a bulletin board containing useful information (such as wanted posters) and nostalgic pieces (such as a picture of Raynor and Findlay in the Heaven's Devils), and a TV set which showed newscasts informing Raynor about events affecting the Terran Dominion.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 2). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. In such spaces, such as the cantina, new characters can be found, and news reports can be watched.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 3). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. In addition, Blizzard wants players to understand the universe as a whole, so they will visit planets, get a sense of the geography, learn who the major players and characters are and find out about political factions. Mission Types Blizzard intends to create varied interesting missions, each with an interesting gimmick or unique strategy. The mission types will be varied; early missions are focussed on acquiring credits and equipment. Dustin Browder, Destructoid. 2009-06-29. Destructoid Interview. Destructoid. Accessed 2009-06-29. one mission consists of a series of train robberies.Gamespy staff, Dustin Browder. 2008-12-23. StarCraft II (PC) (page 2). Gamespy. Accessed 2008-12-24. The third mission will be a hold-out mission. Other missions described include one where lava rises every five minutes, killing anything that isn't on high ground; a mission where infested terrans emerge at night and force the player into a hold-out situation, but they become dormant during the day, during which the player tries to kill as many as possible; a mission where opposing terran and zerg forces seek a goal within a hostile protoss base; a mission in mission in which a lone ghost must influence a battle; a mission on ancient forbidden platforms where the very space damages unitsDustin Browder, Nick Breckon. 2009-06-29. StarCraft 2 Bonanza: Beta Still Not Dated, But New Screenshots, Singleplayer Details. Shacknews. Accessed 2009-06-29. where Raynor must steal artifacts from protoss fanatics; and one mission will have walls of fire burn across the map and the player must complete the mission before being consumed by a nearby supernova.Dustin Browder et al. Världsexklusiv Starcraft 2-intervju! (17:25). Press 2 Play. Accessed 2009-06-17. A few missions will focus on Zeratul.Rob Pardo et al. 2009-07-02. IGTV: StarCraft 2 Developer Interview. Inc.Gamers TV. Accessed 2009-07-04. Storyline The terran campaign will focus on Raynor's Raiders, which has become a mercenary force based in the Hyperion. Raynor's forces are out of money and morale, but Raynor has been trying to reverse this by acquiring alien artifacts and selling them to the mysterious Möbius Foundation. The campaign will have a clear cut resolution. Jim Raynor is "the central hero and character of the campaign,"2007-08-03. StarCraft II Single-Player Campaign BlizzCon Preview. Gamespot. Accessed 2007-08-07. which focuses on his fight against the Terran Dominion as well as his relationship with Kerrigan.Rob Pardo. 2008-10-10. Starcraft 2 Trilogy Announcement. Wegame.com Accessed 2008-10-12. Zeratul and Infested Kerrigan will both make appearances in the campaign and have a major impact in it.Dustin Browder and Thierry Nguyen . 2008-12-30. StarCraft 2 Wings of Liberty (PC, page 2). 1up.com Accessed 2008-12-31. First Missions The campaign starts at Mar Sara, site of the start of the original StarCraft.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 1). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-13-10 Jim Raynor returned here as he fought a losing battle against the Terran Dominion. As Raynor was having a drink, his old friend Tychus Findlay walked in, commenting that, for the Dominion's most wanted, he was easy to find. Raynor was surprised, since Findlay had been "put on ice" for a "life sentence", but Findlay claimed he was a "model citizen" now. Findlay offered Raynor a business deal. He had a contact who would offer much money for each artifact they "liberated" from the Dominion. Findlay and Raynor discussed how Findlay broke out of prison. Findlay claimed to have escaped while being transferred to New Folsom's prison, killing several guards with his bare hands in order to escape... Raynor clearly didn't believe him. Raynor's Raiders "liberated" an alien artifact from a Dominion base, and discussed their new employer -- the Möbius Foundation. Afterwards, a massive zerg invasion targeted the same site -- as was reported by Dominion media -- and were moving against civilian areas. The Raiders defended the site. Matt Horner arrived in the Hyperion, rescuing the Raiders.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 3). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. While in space, Raynor, Findlay and Horner discussed the zerg attacks. News reports showed the zerg striking at core Dominion worlds, and confirmed that the invasion was being led by the Queen of Blades. The Dominion fleet retreated to protect the core resource centers as the Fringe Worlds were abandoned.Dustin Browder, Rob Pardo. 2008-10-11. Blizzcon 2008: StarCraft II Gameplay Discussion Panel (Part 3). Youtube.com Accessed 2008-10-11. FEES_81oVdw A Chilling Warning While seeking a drink in the Hyperion’s cantina, Raynor was surprised by Zeratul, who warned him that the "xel'naga return" and that the artifacts were the key.2007-08-03. StarCraft II Single-Player Campaign BlizzCon Preview. Gamespot. Accessed 2007-08-07. OnNJQcc7Brw Mini-Campaigns Wings of Liberty will include a protoss mini-campaignAJ, LordofAscension, Joneagle X. 2008-10-11. Live Coverage. Starcraft.org Accessed 2008-10-17. based on Zeratul, focusing on the "greater threat".2008-10-13. StarCraft II Zeratul cinematic. Gameplanet. Accessed 2008-10-13. Other mini-campaigns will also feature. However, Raynor will remain as the main character of the installment. Characters *Jim Raynor (leader of Raynor's Raiders, Hyperion commander) *Dr. Ariel Hanson (scientist) *Tychus Findlay (marine) *Matt Horner (second-in-command of Raynor's Raiders, captain of the Hyperion) *Rory Swann (chief engineer) *Gabriel Tosh (arms dealer, ghost) References Category: Games Category: Storyline